Daily Newsletter, Tuesday, 1/12/2016

Table of Contents

Market Wrap

Pause to Breathe

by Jim Brown

The Dow opened the day with a +192 point gain but it was quickly sold and the index returned to negative territory until 2:PM. The closing rally came after oil rebounded from a 12-year low at $29.93 to end the day at $30.65.

Market Statistics

Crude oil appears to be driving the market and that is not a good sign because prices are going lower. Bond king Jeffery Gundlach helped to rally the market after he said this morning that technicals suggested a short-term bottom in the oil market. "Fundamentals are lousy but the technicals call for a short term bottom today. A short-term bottom is due today, actually." Gundlach manages $85 billion for DoubleLine Capital.

Crude flirted with $30 all morning and finally broke that $30 level at 2:PM to trade at $29.93 and a 12-year low. It was December 2003 the last time we saw oil at this level. The rebound was instant thanks to the Gundlach comments and the vast number of puts at the $30 level. Immediately traders began covering their positions with the February futures contract expiring next Wednesday.

If the markets are going to continue to follow crude prices, we are in trouble. Goldman Sachs is targeting $20 in their worst-case scenario. Morgan Stanley just revised their outlook to a $20 target. Investment bank Standard Chartered targeted $10 a barrel in their call this morning. We have not seen oil below $10 since 1998. Standard said there is no equilibrium in the market and there is no fundamental relationship currently driving the market toward that supply/demand balance.

OPEC responded to rumors there would be an emergency meeting to discuss production by saying the rumor was false and there would be no production meeting until the regularly scheduled meeting on June 2nd. Saudi Arabia is actually talking about increasing production because demand is expected to rise in 2016 by 1.2 million barrels per day. Instead of allowing that demand to soak up the current 1.2 mbpd of excess production and balance prices, Saudi wants to gain more market share by increasing production at lower prices.

The last time oil was under $10 in 1998 it was because of Saudi Arabia. Other OPEC nations were not sticking to their production quotas and oil prices were falling. Saudi demanded they honor the quotas but they continued overproducing. In order to punish the other OPEC members and bring them back into the fold, Saudi increased production to record levels and flooded the market with oil. They drove the price down to $10 and U.S. rig counts declined from the historic high of 4,530 to 488. For reference, the rig peak in 2014 was 1,931 and we have declined -1,267 to 664. Last week alone the rig count declined by -34 rigs.

U.S. production hit a three-month high last week at 9.212 million bpd despite the decline in rigs. The EIA said today that U.S. production was going to fall in 2016 by -720,000 bpd and more than the prior estimate for -560,000 bpd. Unfortunately, that will only make up for the addition of 500,000 bpd from Iran when sanctions are removed at the end of January.

Currently producers are in a world of trouble. With WTI crude at $30 the Bakken producers are getting only about $22 for their oil and Canadian producers are getting about $15 a barrel. The problem is a lack of available transportation and storage for oil produced from those areas.

That is far below their cost to produce and so far below they are forced to quit spending money on drilling. However, instead of drilling they are completing previously drilled wells as a way to increase production without drilling new wells. The fraclog is said to be as many as 4,000 wells across the USA. This is why production continues to increase while rig counts are crashing.

Now that the December 31st tax day for refiners has passed, we can expect to see inventories begin to rise sharply. Last year inventories rose from 382.4 million on January 2nd to 490.0 million on April 24th. That is a 108.5 million barrel increase in about 16 weeks or roughly an average gain of 6.78 million barrels per week. It would be next to impossible for a similar gain this year because of lack of storage, which is currently nearing operational capacity.

We know that refiners and speculators will want to buy every barrel of cheap oil they can find because in the long term the price will rise significantly. Refiners will fill every tank they have because it will increase their profit margins later. Analysts are projecting bankruptcies could be 25% to 35% of current producers and service companies if oil remains this low for long. That would force consolidation and would force production moratoriums because creditors would not allow these bankrupt companies to continue to drill and complete wells because that is an extreme cash burn at these prices.

Over the next three months, we can expect to see oil prices continue to decline and $25 a barrel is not unreasonable. We could see lower prices but everything depends on U.S. production rates. If there is no material decline as the EIA expects then prices could go even lower. If production suddenly begins to fall off a cliff then prices could rebound. I do not believe we are going to see a significant production drop until summer or later but I could be wrong. If crude prices continue to fall as expected the equity market is in real trouble.

The opening rally in stocks was brought to you by the lack of a material decline in the Chinese markets. They traded sideways most of the day after some volatility right at the open. We need some calm to return but the Shanghai Composite chart below suggests there is more weakness ahead. The index closed at 3,022 with the 3,000 level critical support. A break of that support could see a drop of 30% or more to 2,000.

The U.S. economics out today were not market moving reports. The NFIB Small Business Survey for December rose from 94.8 to 95.2. Most of the internal components declined with expectations for credit conditions and expansion plans weakening. The "expect economy to improve" component fell from -7 to -14 and the lowest level in more than a year. The only really positive component was the plans to increase employment, which rose from 11 to 15. That is confusing since the rest of the components were either flat or down. The report was ignored.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed job openings rose slightly from 3.6% to a 3.7% rate. Openings increased from 5.349 million to 5.431 million. This is a seriously lagging report for the November period and was ignored.

The only highlight on tomorrow's calendar is the Fed Beige Book, which is expected to be mostly unchanged.

The earnings calendar is also weak for Wednesday. The pace picks up with Intel and JP Morgan on Thursday and many of the big banks on Friday.

S&P Capital IQ updated their earnings forecast and S&P companies are now expected to post a -5.7% decline in earnings for Q4. This would be the second consecutive quarter of earnings decline. Revenues are expected to decline -1.3% for the fourth consecutive quarter of declines. Seven of the ten S&P sector are expected to post earnings declines with only telecom, consumer discretionary and health care expected to post gains.

Intel (INTC) was upgraded by two companies today. Mizuho upgraded the company to a buy with a price target of $37. Pacific Crest upgraded to a buy with a price target of $35. Mizuho said Intel's server chips continue to dominate the cloud and the hyperscale computing sector. Also, the PC market is expected to be "less bad" in 2016. The PC market is still 60% of Intel's revenue. PC sales have been down 13% to 15% annually since 2013. In 2016, Mizuho expects only a 3-4% decline. The analyst said there were one billion installed PCs more than three years old that could be involved in a replacement cycle in 2016. They believe Intel will also benefit from new enterprise tablet chips. Intel is also expanding into industrial, medical and automotive markets. Intel reports earnings on Thursday.

Bank of America (BAC) upgraded Apple (AAPL) to a buy from neutral and a price target of $130 saying the concerns over production cuts were already priced into the stock. The bank said Apple could be poised for a bullish cycle after earnings on the 26th. Apple shares gained +$1.43 to $100 but remains well off its recent highs.

DreamWorks Animation (DWA) was upgraded by FBR from neutral to outperform because of larger than expected license payments from Netflix. DWA gave Netflix the continued global rights to its products for the current 180 countries that it now has, up from the prior 60 country distribution platform. That should produce some big checks from Netflix. The company's Kung Fu Panda series is doing great and the KFP 3 sequel is expected to be a big hit. Analysts are expecting a domestic box office of $185-$200 million. FBR put a $29 price target on DWA with the stock at $24 so it was not a big leap of faith in DWA.

Lululemon (LULU) gained +4% after raising guidance due to stronger than expected holiday sales. LULU had given cautious guidance only a month ago so business must have really improved. The company said Q4 revenue could be $690-$695 million, up from prior guidance of $670-$685 million. Earnings are now expected to be 78-80 cents and higher than the prior guidance of 75-78 cents. Analysts were expecting 77 cents on revenue of $679 million. Cowen & Co raised its price target from $52 to $66. Shares opened about 9% higher but faded into the close.

Starbucks (SBUX) said it was planning on opening 500 new stores in China with plans to operate 3,400 there by 2019. There are currently 2,000 Starbucks stores in China. Same store sales in China rose +9% in 2015. At the end of December Starbucks had 23,043 stores in 68 countries with 14,803 company-owned and licensed stores in the America's segment. Shares rose +$1.64 on the news.

YUM Brands (YUM) also rose in afterhours after the company said same store sales grew +1% in China in December. The KFC locations in China saw an increase of 5%. Sales declined at Pizza Huts. YUM has been challenged in China from multiple food problems over the last three years. Any sales increase is positive.

United Continental (UAL) said passenger revenue would be lower than expected because of the terror attacks in Europe and the lack of oil executive travel to and from Houston. Low oil prices should have been a boost for United but in this case, the company said lower energy executive travel all over the world is reducing traffic. Shares are approaching a 52-week low under $50.

After the bell, Met Life (MET) said it was planning to spin off its U.S. life insurance unit, which is the largest in the country. That represents about 20% of Met's earnings as of the last quarter. The CEO said the spinoff was part of the company's strategic initiatives to increase shareholder value. He said an independent company would be able to compete more effectively and generate stronger returns for shareholders. Met is designated as a "Systemically Important Financial Institution" or SIFI and is restricted in what is can do and required to maintain higher capital levels. By splitting into multiple companies, they can remove themselves from the SIFI designation. Met has more than $600 billion in assets. Shares rallied 8% in afterhours.

CSX Corp (CSX) reported earnings after the bell that declined -5% on a -6% drop in shipments. The company reported earnings of 48 cents compared to estimates for 46 cents. Revenue of $2.78 billion missed estimates for $2.92 billion. The earnings came from a -13% cut in expenses. The CEO said "negative global and industrial market trends projected for 2016 are expected to decrease earnings and revenue." This suggests the health of the U.S. economy is weakening when shippers of all goods complain about slowing traffic. Shares declined slightly after the close.

Copper fell to a new post crisis low at $1.95 as global commodity demand continued to decline. "Dr Copper" is still telling us the global economy is weakening.

Two U.S. Navy boats and crews are being held by Iran after one boat developed engine trouble and both drifted into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf where one boat ran aground. The boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the Navy lost contact. The Iranian news agency said the sailors were trespassing in Iranian waters and they were detained. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said they had been in contact with Iran and had been "assured" they would be returned promptly. I doubt they will be returned until after President Obama's State of the Union Speech tonight. They will make convenient hostages to make sure the President does not say anything negative about Iran.

Since guns are banned in Germany, there has been a run on Pepper Spray after the gang rapes and sexual assaults over the last two weeks. This graphic shows the increase in the number of people Googling pepper spray. Sales have increased more than 600% and most stores are sold out.

Markets

We are due for a rebound. The markets are very oversold but they have so far resisted the potential for a giant short squeeze. On the positive side, the indexes have rallied at the close for two consecutive days and that is the opposite of the prior two weeks.

With the S&P bouncing off 1,900 on Monday, that is an ideal place for a rebound even if only temporary. This is option expiration week and I am sure there are a lot of put options that need to be closed before Friday. Assuming China's market does not implode this week I would not be surprised for the U.S. markets hold their current levels and maybe post some additional gains.

However, the week after January expiration has been known to experience some significant declines in weak markets. When December and January are historically strong the market tends to continue higher. Given the performance over the last few weeks, I would be cautious ahead of next week.

Volume has been very high for the last five days averaging nearly 9.0 billion shares per day.

The S&P set an intraday high of 1,947 at the open and then failed to return to that level with a close at 1,938. That is somewhat troubling but the S&P did manage to post a +15 point gain.

Every prolonged market decline is interspersed with days of temporary rebounds. Until we see a pattern of higher lows, we should remain cautious.

The trading over the last several days has given us some key levels to watch. Those are 1,950 and 1,900 on the S&P. A move past those levels in either direction should see the market accelerate.

At Monday's low of 16,232 the Dow had declined -1,518 points from its 17,750 high on December 29th. That is a significant decline without any material rebound. The minimal +117 rebound today was decent but not on the scale you would expect to see if there was a real short squeeze in progress. It is not unusual to see 200-300 point rebounds if the shorts are really worried.

The Dow rallied +192 at the open before falling back into negative territory at -70 midday. That is not a sign of a healthy market or that shorts are worried about covering. The afternoon rally at exactly 2:PM smells of a buy program and I am sure it was helped by the rebound in crude prices. It does not give me confidence that we are headed immediately higher.

We are oversold. This is option expiration week. We cannot define direction until this week is over because of those influences.

The downside target for the Dow is 16,000 and I wish we would just drop there and get it over with. Secondly, as long as I am wishing I would wish for that to be the bottom and the start of an 11-month rally. That wish has about as much chance of coming true as my Powerball ticket does in being the winner.

Resistance is 16,600 and 16,665. Support is 16,232 and 16,000.

Normally a +48 point day on the Nasdaq would be a good day. While I am not complaining the Nasdaq did drop -543 points from the December 29th high at 5,116 to Monday's low at 4,573. Rebounding 48 points is only a minor gain compared to those losses.

The 2015 leaders are still absent from the winners list with the exception of GOOGL. This means profits are still being taken and there is a fair amount of rotation in progress. That is normally good for the market but it remains to be seen if that rotation will lift it back to the December levels.

Apple helped today after the upgrade and Intel could help on Friday if the earnings are decent. Next week we will begin to get some tech and biotech earnings and hopefully a positive trend will develop.

Resistance is 4,715 and 4,900 with support at 4,600 and 4,550.

The Russell 2000 is the black sheep of the family. The index dipped into bear market territory on Monday and intraday today and only gained +3 today to close down -19.38% from its highs. The 1,036 level is a 20% decline and the low today was 1,028. The small caps are normally the strongest in December and January and this cycle they have been the weakest by far.

Until we see the Russell begin to rebound consistently, the broader markets are going to be weak. However, the Russell is handicapped by a lot of energy stocks and its rebound could be slow until crude prices firm.

Futures are up slightly but China's markets have not yet opened. Crude oil is up slightly at $30.75 at 7:15 ET because the weekly API inventory report said inventories unexpectedly declined -3.9 million barrels for the week ended on Friday while gasoline inventories rose +7 million barrels and distillates gained +3.7 million. I suspect this is catch up accounting from the last week of December when refiners were trying to push as much oil through the system and convert it to refined products before the taxman came to count oil levels. The EIA report on Wednesday morning is the most accurate report.

I am not convinced that today's rebound is the start of a rally. I believe it is just some equalization of the oversold pressures and traders covering their options in an expiration week. Rebounding oil should help somewhat but I do not expect it to continue.

New Option Plays

At Support And Poised To Rally

by James Brown

Stop Loss: 68.45
Target(s): To Be Determined
Current Option Gain/Loss: Unopened
Average Daily Volume = 729 thousand
Entry on January -- at $---.--
Listed on January 12, 2016
Time Frame: Exit PRIOR to earnings in late February
New Positions: Yes, see below

Trade Description:
Shares of DY suffered a -20% correction in the last several weeks of 2015. In spite of the pullback DY was one of the market's best performing stocks last year with a +100% gain. The reason why DY performed so well is rising demand for its telecom infrastructure business.
Think about your smartphone usage. Consumer demand for data and streaming video has surged and will only increase as we go forward. That has the major communications companies upgrading their networks to handle more data and that means more business for DY.

DY is part of the industrial goods sector. According to the company,
"Dycom is a leading provider of specialty contracting services throughout the United States and in Canada. These services include project management, engineering, construction, maintenance and installation services to telecommunications providers, underground facility locating services to various utilities, including telecommunications providers, and other construction and maintenance services to electric and gas utilities."

Stocks are supposed to rise when the company delivers earnings growth. Last year DY did not disappoint. In 2015 DY saw its revenues grow +20% while earnings surged +150% for the year. Their most recent earnings report was November 23rd. DY delivered their 2016 Q1 results. Quarterly earnings soared +110% from a year ago to $1.24 a share. Analysts were only expecting $1.01 on revenues of $625 million. DY said revenues were up +29% to $659 million. Furthermore DY's management raised their Q2 guidance significantly above Wall Street estimates. For the year ahead analysts are forecasting DY's earnings to rise +62% in 2016.

Technically DY's stock has been correcting lower. The point & figure chart is bearish but a rise above $75.00 will generate a new buy signal. You can see on the daily chart that DY bounced off technical support at its 200-dma but remains inside its descending bearish channel. We want to be ready to catch the breakout if DY does break out of this channel. Tonight we are suggesting a trigger to buy calls at $73.75. I'm listing the March $75 calls. You may want to consider the March $80s instead.

Trigger @ $73.75

- Suggested Positions -

Buy the MAR $75 CALL (DY160318C75) current ask $4.60
option price is a current quote and not a suggested entry price.

Entry disclaimer: To avoid an unfavorable entry point, we will not launch a new play if the stock gaps open more than $1.00 past our suggested entry point.

Option Format: symbol-year-month-day-call-strike

Daily Chart:

Weekly Chart:

In Play Updates and Reviews

Has The Oversold Bounce Finally Started?

by James Brown

Stocks rallied at the open only to see traders selling into strength. It looked like we might have another down day as crude oil flirted with a breakdown below the $30.00 a barrel mark. Fortunately stocks staged a comeback this afternoon.

Has the oversold bounce finally begun? We do not know yet but the NASDAQ managed to snap an eight-day losing streak.

Current Portfolio:

CALL Play Updates

Digital Realty Trust Inc. - DLR - close: 78.08 change: -0.52

Stop Loss: 74.80
Target(s): To Be Determined
Current Option Gain/Loss: -4.5%
Average Daily Volume = 1.5 million
Entry on January 11 at $77.75
Listed on January 09, 2016
Time Frame: Exit PRIOR to February option expiration
New Positions: see below

Comments: 01/12/16:
This morning shares of DLR were upgraded to a "buy" rating. The stock reacted by gapping open higher and touching new multi-year highs just below major resistance near the $80 level.

More conservative traders may want to start adjusting their stop loss higher.

Trade Description: January 9, 2016:
The last several days have been tough on investors. Stocks experienced a global market sell-off. This volatility and uncertainty could push investors into safer, high-dividend paying stocks. Currently the 10-year U.S. bond only yields 2.1%. That makes a stock like DLR, with a dividend yield above 4%, a lot more attractive. The company has a history of consistently raising its dividend over the last nine years in a row. The stock's
relative strength doesn't hurt either.

DLR is in the financial sector. According to the company,
"Digital Realty Trust, Inc. supports the data center and colocation strategies of more than 1,000 firms across its secure, network-rich portfolio of data centers located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Digital Realty's clients include domestic and international companies of all sizes, ranging from financial services, cloud and information technology services, to manufacturing, energy, gaming, life sciences and consumer products."

DLR has consistently beat Wall Street earnings expectations the last four quarters in a row. The last two quarters the company has also beat analysts' revenue estimates.

Earlier this week DLR provided their 2016 outlook and the company's forecast was slightly above expectations, which helped shares resist the market's sell-off.

Here is an excerpt from DLR's press release on their 2016 outlook:

Digital Realty expects 2016 core FFO (Funds from Operations) per share to be within a range of $5.45-$5.60, which represents a 7% increase at the midpoint from the midpoint of 2015 core FFO per share guidance. Foreign currency translation is expected to represent a headwind to core FFO per share of 1%-2% in 2016.

"We are seeing solid demand for Digital Realty's comprehensive set of data center solutions, which gives us confidence in our ability to achieve accelerating core FFO per share growth in 2016," commented Andrew P. Power, Digital Realty's Chief Financial Officer. "We also expect to generate double-digit AFFO per share growth (Adjusted Funds from Operations), driven by greater cash flow contribution from our core business, accretion from the Telx acquisition and the continued burn-off of straight-line rent. In short, the quality of earnings is improving, the growth in cash flow is accelerating, and we are optimistic about the prospects for our business in 2016 and beyond."

The recent relative strength in shares of DLR over the last few weeks has lifted shares above key resistance near the $75.00 level. It has also produced a buy signal on the point & figure chart, which is now forecasting a longer-term target of $102.00.

Friday saw DLR shares tag new all-time highs (@ 77.67). Tonight we are suggesting a trigger to buy calls at $77.75. Plan on exiting prior to February option expiration.

Stop Loss: 84.90
Target(s): To Be Determined
Current Option Gain/Loss: -11.3%
Average Daily Volume = 927 thousand
Entry on January 05 at $88.15
Listed on January 04, 2016
Time Frame: Exit PRIOR to earnings in early February
New Positions: see below

Comments: 01/12/16:
HRS was back to showing relative strength again. Traders bought the dip midday and shares surged to a +2.2% gain by the close. HRS now looks poised to breakout past resistance near $90.00.

Trade Description: January 4, 2016:
Out of the thousands of publically traded companies out there only a few have been around for over 100 years. A couple of weeks ago HRS celebrated its 120th anniversary.

HRS issued a press release to mark the achievement. Here's an excerpt:
"Founded in the back room of an Ohio jewelry store in December 1895, Harris grew from a tiny printing press company into a top 10 defense contractor with $8 billion in annualized sales, 22,000 employees, customers in 125 countries, and a diverse portfolio of technologies that connect, inform and protect the world. Harris is the longest-thriving major defense contractor and one of 398 publicly held companies still in existence for 120 years or longer - including GE, CVS, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, P&G, and J.P. Morgan."

Today HRS is in the technology sector. They are considered part of the communication equipment industry. According to the company,
"Harris Corporation is a leading technology innovator, solving our customers' toughest mission-critical challenges by providing solutions that connect, inform and protect. Harris supports customers in more than 125 countries, has approximately $8 billion in annual revenue and 22,000 employees worldwide. The company is organized into four business segments: Communication Systems, Space and Intelligence Systems, Electronic Systems, and Critical Networks."

Last year HRS ended 2015 on a strong note. The month of December saw HRS win several government contracts worth more than $1 billion. Meanwhile analysts are bullish on the stock. Goldman Sachs has a buy rating on HRS. Cowen recently upped their price target to $102 and said it was one of their best trading ideas for 2016.

Technically the stock has been showing relative strength. Last year HRS outperformed the broader market with a +20% gain. The positive news about the company's new contract wins produced a bullish breakout past major resistance at $85.00 in mid December. Today investors bought the dip near short-term support at its 10-dma. HRS displayed relative strength today too with a +0.8% gain. If this bounce continues we want to hop on board. Tonight we are suggesting a trigger to buy calls at $88.15.

Stop Loss: 103.85
Target(s): To Be Determined
Current Option Gain/Loss: Unopened
Average Daily Volume = 35 million
Entry on January -- at $---.--
Listed on January 07, 2016
Time Frame: Exit PRIOR to February option expiration
New Positions: Yes, see below

Comments: 01/12/16:
The market's early morning gains faded but investors did buy the dip mid-afternoon. The QQQ managed to bounce back and close up +1.1%.

There is no change from my weekend comments.
We have two different entry points listed below.

Trade Description: January 7, 2016:
The stock market moves on emotion. Most of the time it is a tug-of-war between fear and greed. Occasionally one emotion takes control of the market and stocks move too fast one direction. That is where we are at today.

Fears of a global slowdown thanks to disappointing economic data out of China have increased. China has devalued their currency again, which does not generate confidence. Yesterday we had the nuclear weapon testing headlines from North Korea, which generates fear. We have plunging oil prices, which is fueling worries about deflation.

Odds of a snap back rally are growing and we want to be ready to catch it. One way to play it is the NASDAQ-100 ETF or the QQQ. These are very liquid, big cap names that fund managers can move in and out of more easily.

Thus far 2016 has been ruled by fear. We are only four trading days into the year and the NASDAQ composite is already down -6.4% completely erasing its +5.7% gain from 2015. The QQQ is down -6.2% in the last four days and it's down -8.25% from its December 29th peak just six trading days ago. That's too far too fast.

Tonight we are suggesting a short-term bullish trade when stocks bounce. They will bounce (eventually). Today's intraday high on the QQQ was $107.29. We are suggesting a trigger to buy calls at $107.35. We'll use an initial stop loss at $103.85. More conservative traders may want to use a stop loss closer to today's intraday low instead ($104.81).

Trigger @ $106.50, use an initial stop loss at $103.45

- Suggested Positions -

Buy the FEB $110 CALL (QQQ160219C110)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Buy-the-Dip Trigger @ $100.50, use an initial stop loss at $97.45

- Suggested Positions -

Buy the FEB $105 CALL (QQQ160219C105)

Entry disclaimer: To avoid an unfavorable entry point, we will not launch a new play if the stock gaps open more than $1.00 past our suggested entry point(s).

01/09/16 Entry Strategy Update - Use TWO different entry triggers
One is a buy-the-dip trigger at $100.50 with a stop at $97.45 and the Feb $105 calls
The other is a trigger at $106.50 with a stop at $103.45 and the Feb $110 calls
Option Format: symbol-year-month-day-call-strike

Sovran Self Storage Inc. - SSS - close: 109.79 change: +0.29

Stop Loss: 107.40
Target(s): To Be Determined
Current Option Gain/Loss: Unopened
Average Daily Volume = 257 thousand
Entry on January -- at $---.--
Listed on January 11, 2016
Time Frame: Exit PRIOR to earnings in mid February
New Positions: Yes, see below

Comments: 01/12/16:
SSS failed to keep up with the broader market's gains today. Shares spent the session consolidating sideways and struggling to break through resistance near the $110.00 level.
Our suggested entry point is $110.75.

Trade Description: January 11, 2016:
REIT stocks had a rocky year in 2015 as investors worried about the Federal Reserve raising rates. Well the Fed finally did raise rates in December and shares of SSS soared to new highs. This stock has been outperforming both its peers and the broader market. Last year the S&P 500 was flat (-0.7%) while the REIT ETF (symbol: IYR) lost -17.6%. Shares of SSS delivered a +22% gain last year and the bullish momentum continues in 2016.

SSS is part of the financial sector. According to the company,
"Sovran Self Storage, Inc. is an equity REIT that is in the business of acquiring and managing self storage facilities. The Company operates over 500 self storage facilities in 25 states under the name Uncle Bob's Self Storage."

This is a relative strength play. SSS has rallied toward round-number resistance at $110.00. Shares spent the last several days consolidating sideways in the $105-110 zone. Now it looks poised to breakout. The point & figure chart is bullish and forecasting a long-term target at $130.00.

Readers might want to consider buying calls on a breakout past $110.00. However, the intraday high on December 30th was $110.60. We are suggesting a trigger to launch positions at $110.75.

FYI: SSS has an $0.85 dividend coming up soon. The ex-dividend date appears to be January 15th. The stock will likely gap down on Friday morning due to the dividend.

Trigger @ $110.75

- Suggested Positions -

Buy the FEB $110 CALL (SSS160219C110)

Entry disclaimer: To avoid an unfavorable entry point, we will not launch a new play if the stock gaps open more than $1.00 past our suggested entry point.